Question of the Week

After recent rains, some of our xeric plants like senna, artemisia, and yuccas—among many others–fell over, split apart, or just flat rotted.

Drought tolerant plants are the choice these days, since they can withstand our lengthy periods of little rainfall with low supplemental water.

But this situation offers me the opportunity to talk a little about the key to success with drought tolerant species, and that’s soil. If you live in an area with heavy clay soil, and many of us do, low-water-use plants will struggle when we actually have rainfall.

Many of these species are native to desert regions, where the soil is very porous. So in their native environment, even if it rains, the soil doesn’t hold water for long. But that’s not true of our clay soil, which holds water for a very long time.

And if desert species, which are adapted to very dry conditions, stay wet for too long, they will rot and fall over. Artemisia, Senna, Cassia, Agaves, and Yuccas are just a few of the plants that suffered in the recent deluge that brought almost 13” of rain to Central Austin. That’s just too much water for most desert species to handle.

If you can, build berms or raised areas in the garden for desert, drought-tolerant species. And use very sandy, porous soil to amend those planting beds. Raising the roots out of the heavy clay soil helps to keep them a little drier.

It’s a great idea to move to more heat and drought tolerant species, but we need to understand how to change the entire landscape to better mimic the natural environment of these plants. Building berms and swales, to channel the water away from certain areas of the garden and into others, will go a long ways towards insuring the success of low-water use species.

One viewer asked if he could pull his Senna back up, tie it together and get it to recover. Sadly, no, this won’t work.

Plant of the Week

Dill

Dill is an easy cool season herb to grow. Along with its tasty leaves and seeds for our recipes, it's a pretty plant to mingle with flowers, vegetables and other herbs.
With its feathery bright green foliage and lovely upside-down-umbrella shaped inflorescence, dill makes a striking addition to any area of the garden.
Although many people plant dill in fall, it can succumb to winter freezes if temps drop below 25_. At our Travis County Extension demonstration beds, we plant it after the last freeze date.
You can plant from transplants or seeds. If planting from seed, just lightly scratch into the soil, since they are so small.
Dill is an annual that thrives in well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. It will bolt and flower when hot weather comes our way.
The flowers that signify bolting attract many beneficial insects to the garden. And, since it's a larval plant for Swallowtail butterflies, don't kill the caterpillars that enjoy it, too. Plant extras so you and wildlife can enjoy.
Dill grows very quickly and may tend to fall over, especially if exposed to windy conditions or if planted in too much shade. So be sure to give it at least 6 hours of sun and plant in a protected spot.
To harvest the seeds for cooking, cut the entire flower stalk just as the seeds begin to ripen, and then allow the stalk to dry. You can also use dill leaves in pickling, soups, and other savory dishes.
Harvest fresh leaves and use them immediately, since the flavor is lost fairly quickly. Cutting your dill to use in the kitchen will actually invigorate it, causing it to branch and grow and produce more leaves and flowers for harvest.

Dividing Nursery Chard Plants

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Trees: DO NOT prune red oaks and live oaks unless damaged. Spray immediately with clear varnish.

No need to apply pruning paint to other trees

Dead head flowering plants

Cut back fall blooming perennials like aster

Prune spring bulbs only when foliage is brown

Remove sucker shoots from tomato plants to get earlier, larger fruit

Cut back spring bulbs that are brown

Move/Divide

Succulents

Spring blooming bulbs while you can still see them!

Fertilize

Foliar feed flowers and vegetables with liquid seaweed

Bougainvillea with high nitrogen

Citrus with high nitrogen fertilizer like Citrus-tone. Fertilize every few weeks through growing season.

Insects

Watch for aphids and spider mites. It’s easy to spray them off with a hard blast of water. Be sure to get the undersides of the leaves.

Ladybugs and green lacewings will be chomping down those aphids, so watch for them and their larvae.

Aphids and other insects can create sooty mold on plants, a fungus that develops from their secretions (honeydew). Wash off the culprits and the leaves. Remove damaged leaves to the trash (not the compost pile).

Walk the garden in early morning to pick off stink bugs and largus bugs from tomatoes. Check under the leaves for eggs.

Deploy grasshoppers while young. If you wait, you won’t be able to deal with them. Effective baits include Nolo Bait or Semaspore. Both contain a protozoa called Nosema locustae which is impregnated in bran flakes sweetened with sugar. Apply by hand or with a rotary spreader, early in the morning, when grasshoppers are feeding.

Lawn

Move the lawn mower setting up to high. As we head into summer, keep the roots cool by leaving the grass long. Don’t remove more than 1/3 of the top at a time. Leave clippings on the lawn to naturally fertilize.

Other tasks

Collect seeds from spring blooming plants. Clean off the chaff and let dry indoors. Store in jars, envelopes, or paper bags (not plastic) to plant in November

Mulch, but avoid touching the base of trees and roses

WEED! Do not let weeds go to seed. Do not apply chemicals: pull them up or mow down before they set seed.